Baby #2 Bumpdate: 15 Weeks

Just for reference, here I am below at 15 weeks with Cambry. Yikes, definitely showing more this time!

How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Baby's Size: Apple 

Maternity Clothes: Belly band, and a lot of maternity shirts. My favorite trick is to tie something around a regular shirt to give some definition to the belly instead of looking blob-ish. I have several shirts that have those removable sash things so it makes a great maternity accessory.

Movement: None yet

Sleep: Great. At least one bathroom trip a night though.

Symptoms: Nauseous throughout the day and extremely nauseous at night, tired, easily lightheaded. I have started to see a little relief, but still nauseous. But it is very encouraging that hopefully I will continue to see improvement!

Food Aversions/Cravings: Not much change - cheesy foods, soups, pickles, hamburgers, milk and cereal. 

Best Moment this Week: Dinner with the Ramseys - felt nice to do something at night even though I still felt nausous.

What I miss: Feeling good, going on walks, doing more things during the week with other moms, working out, etc.

What I am Looking Forward to: Nausea going away, feeling the baby kick.

By the way, one of my favorite pregnancy apps is the Pampers Hello Baby app (for the ipad) because it gives you the real life size of your baby each week. It is a really neat way to visualize it. The limbs definitely start to go off the page at some point because it gets bigger than the ipad. And by 40 weeks it just looks huge. Greg and I would look at the app each week with Cambry and by the end we were thinking no way she is this huge! We said once she was born we would compare to the 40 week picture. Well we completely forgot. I guess with a newborn you have lots of other things to worry about then how accurate your pregnancy app was :) Maybe this time around we will remember. Either way, it is fun to see.

Tidbits

This past weekend we had a lot of fun. We got to go to a friend's birthday party at a park. The weather was just perfect.

We also had dinner with the Ramsey's. We haven't hung out with them in a long time so it was nice to get together. And it was the first time in what feels like FOREVER that we have done something in the evening. I was still nauseous but at least we socialized.

Cambry was being silly one night at dinner so I captured some of her expressions.

Another random thing - Cambry now likes pickles. I have been eating pickle spears like crazy and started offering Cambry bites. At first she didn't like it but now she can pretty much eat a whole one. That's my girl!

Cambry sleeps with her babies and the other night I saw this on the monitor. Fell asleep with one baby on her head, ha! She loves them so much.

Yard Work

The other weekend we did some work in the front yard. I say "we", although it was mostly Greg. I did help out some though and it was a surprisingly nice distraction from the nausea.

Cambry was also our little helper. She had fun walking around with a small container of fertilizer, or the broom, or acorns. She also loves getting in the bed of Greg's truck and just walking around.

Here is the before picture. You can see the section between the house and the walkway is all grass.

Here is the after. We tore out all the grass and put in some shrubs and flowers and some solar lights. I hope the flowers live! We are not the most knowledgeable about landscaping so we will see what happens. But for now I think it is a nice improvement.

Green Chili Chicken & Lime Soup

I tried this Green Chili Chicken & Lime Soup recipe this week.

I did what I always do now for recipes that call for shredded chicken - make it in the crockpot. It is the easiest way by far. I put in the chicken breasts while they are still frozen and pour a little broth on top. I put it on high for about 4 hours then pull it apart with forks. 

As usual, I made a couple changes to the recipe. I used mild Rotel because I didn't want it too hot and I wanted Cambry to eat it. I also used only one can of green chilies instead of 2. Instead of basmati rice I used the Uncle Bens 90 second whole grain brown rice because it is easier.

Greg and I both liked it. Cambry definitely gobbled it up. At first I wasn't sure if I would make it again. I mean, it was good, but I have other soup recipes I like better. But it grew on me and I actually liked it better the second night. So I think I would make this again. It is definitely good with avocado and crushed tortilla chips on top.

Baby #2 Bumpdate: 14 Weeks

How far along: 14 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Lemon (is a lemon bigger than a peach?) 

Maternity Clothes: Belly band usually, and I like to wear maternity shirts or tight shirts so it helps me look more pregnant. Otherwise I feel really awkward in most of my clothes.

Movement: None yet

Sleep: Great. At least one bathroom trip a night though.

Symptoms: Nauseous throughout the day and extremely nauseous at night, tired, easily lightheaded. I am so ready for the nausea to go away.

Food Aversions/Cravings: First of all, let me just say that I do not necessarily consider everything a "pregnancy craving". I think it is a little silly to just say that any little thing that sounds good to you is a direct result of being pregnant. Although I know sometimes taste buds really can change during pregnancy. But I think anyone could list the things each week that sound good to them, so that is what I am doing. A lot of this I think is just due to the fact that I am nauseous so certain things sound better than others. But currently - cheesy foods (still), soups, pickles, milk and cereal. And I kind of want some Taco Bell! (Gasp!) I haven't eaten Taco Bell in YEARS. Reminds me of college although I probably ate it in my single years too because I ate very unhealthy and never cooked. Its one of those things that if I ate it I would probably like it but just knowing how unhealthy it is keeps me from being able to enjoy it. Well suddenly I feel like I could enjoy it, ha! 

Best Moment this Week: Being outside this weekend in the nice weather and working (a little) in the yard.

What I Miss: Feeling good, going on walks, doing more things during the week with other moms, etc. Hopefully soon!

What I am Looking Forward to: Feeling good hopefully soon. Also feeling the baby kick. I think I felt Cambry kick around 17 1/2 weeks and it seems like most people feel it sooner the second time around. 

Cambry 16 Months

 (Pictures did not go well today)

Our little princess is 16 months today! It is so fun to watch as she constantly learns and understands new things. She is so fun to interact with. She is silly and smiley yet can be very laid back and serious. She is so sweet and we love her to pieces.

Skills: She is trying to say so many new words! Her newest thing is saying "Whooaa" all drawn out. Or sometimes it sounds like "Wowwww". Words she says fairly consistently - mama, dada, bye, baby, dog, ruff, bath, ball, uh oh, milk, wawa (water). Although many of those don't quite sound that clear, but more like the first couple letters or so. She can identify eyes, nose, mouth, ears, head, belly button, and toes. She understands a lot and will sometimes follow directions if I say something like - go get your doll and blanket.

Likes: Shoes! She loves for me to put shoes on her and loves to try and walk around in my or Greg's shoes. If you leave shoes out anywhere she will find them and put them on. She of course still loves her baby dolls. She now sleeps with 2 (and a blanket). Sometimes she carries all 3 babies around. She still loves purses and necklaces and anything else girly. She loves to play horsey. If I am sitting with my legs crossed she will come and sit on my foot wanting to ride the horsey. She still loves books. If her schedule gets off and she won't take an afternoon nap I can at least put her in her crib with a bunch of books and she is content to read by herself for a good while. She also loves to go outside and explore, loves dogs, playing peekaboo, and playing in the tupperware cabinet.

Struggles: A consistent schedule. The girl just does not wake up at the same time. Today 7:30. Yesterday 6:30. Most days closer to 6. Last week she started creeping up earlier and earlier until one morning 4:55. We put her to bed at the same time every night so I really don't understand it. Do other babies just wake up at the same time everyday or are all you mamas just waking your kids up?

Schedule: Well like I said wake up time is always different. She takes 2 naps - morning and afternoon. I still rock her to sleep for those. Timing depends on her wake up time. They are usually 1-2 hours. She drinks milk 3 times a day, and is a pretty good eater. She is getting much better about eating what we eat for dinner, although we still struggle with getting her to eat vegetables. Bedtime is 7:30 and she is a champ at going down awake and falling asleep on her own although sometimes it takes a while.

We love you CPM!

Calling All Houston Moms

Hey Houston moms! Has anyone heard of the City Moms Blog Network? It is a network for local mom blogs. There are 13 different cities up and running so far (with at least 8 more in the works). But there is not one for Houston...yet!

2 years ago my sister Lauren founded the Dallas Moms Blog. That blog has grown to be a fantastic resource for Dallas moms. My sister doesn't do it all by herself - she has a team of contributors. My sis is the one up front in the blue :)

These are fellow Dallas moms who write posts for the blog. Anything from pregnancy, getting picky toddlers to eat, nursery ideas, reviews of local parks, kid friendly restaurants, recipes, free things to do around town, etc. They also have these awesome Moms Night Out events. My sister tells me all about these and they sound so cool. They get all these local sponsors involved - so they are at different fun venues with lots of food and drinks and the guests get these fun swag bags full of goodies! What a great way to meet other local moms and get a much needed girls night.

Anyway, all that to say, wouldn't it be great to have a Houston Moms Blog site? My sister has been bugging me for years to start one, ha! She has really loved being involved in the Dallas blog and connecting with and meeting moms. While I don't want to take on that responsibility at this time, I would LOVE for someone else to. I have searched the web but haven't found any one great resource for Houston moms comparable to the Dallas Moms Blog (or any of the others in the City Moms Blog Network). I have been waiting and waiting for someone to start the Houston one. Even though I have lived here my whole life, Houston is huge and there are still so many things I don't know about Houston. I would love to hear from other moms about local activities for the kids, best playgrounds, free family events, etc.

Sooooo, I wanted to spread the word if anyone is interested. You don't have to be a blogger already, you just have to be a Houston mom. It would be awesome to have multiple locations around town - such as Katy Moms Blog, Pearland Moms Blog, Woodlands Moms Blog, etc. So the more the merrier if people want to start those. But since I am in Houston of course I would love for someone to start the Houston one first :)

You don't have to do it alone. Most of the different sites have 2, and sometimes 3 owners. That would really help take the load off. My sister started off Dallas Moms Blog with a partner, Casey. Well Casey has since moved away from Dallas, so now my sister is the site owner. And obviously the contributors share a lot of the workload with her too. The City Moms Blog Network is the overall "parent" if you will, of all the sites. They will help you get everything up and running, teach you all about running your site, and provide continued support along the way.

Sorry if any this is confusing, I am not sure if I explained it well. But if anyone is at all interested go check out City Moms Blog Network for more information or check out Dallas Moms Blog to get an idea of what the Houston blog could be like. Feel free to email my sister - Lauren@citymomsblog.com if you have any questions. Even if you don't want to start it, I'm sure you would love to read it so spread the word to your friends so maybe we can find someone who would love to start it.

Oh, and by the way, even though I don't want to be in charge, I would love to be on the contributor team so if you are interested in starting it, please let me know as I would love to help!

Bluebonnet Photos Take 2

Greg and I went back to take bluebonnet pictures again and this time we got some really cute ones! I suppose I am a little obsessed with our cutie since I am putting so many pics on here but hey this blog is like our family scrapbook/journal. Greg took most of these. He is so good at it and is great at making her smile. Definitely a better result with both of us there. Although there is going to be a whole new level of challenge when baby #2 comes along and we have to get both of them smiling at once.

Peek-a-boo!

I saw a photo tip on Pinterest that if you give a kid a small piece of tape it will distract them for a minute so they are not squirming away from the camera and it won't be noticeable in pictures. See it on her thumb? Kind of noticeable but oh well.

I just love her little baby legs - they are still chunky :) Even though I always realize how fun each new stage is, I still just want to freeze her in time at this age. But I also thought that at infancy, at 6 months, at 10 months, etc. As it is said "Children are a gift from the Lord" Psalm 127:3

Greg thinks she looks 13 in this picture. I think it is just her pose. She still looks like the sweetest little toddler to me.

Bluebonnets

It seems every good Texan Mom takes pictures of their kids in a pumpkin patch in the fall and in bluebonnets in the spring, right? 

Well I wasn't planning on doing bluebonnet pictures until I saw some cute ones my friend Joan took just a couple miles from our house. So I headed over there today. I am going to try to get Greg to go back with me sometime soon because it is really hard to try and take pictures and get her to smile at the same time. She was making a scrunchie face the whole time (even though it was overcast) and was not really interested in looking at the camera and smiling.

Oh well, here are bluebonnet pics round 1.

Baby #2 Bumpdate: 13 Weeks

How far along: 13 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Peach 

Maternity Clothes: Belly band sometimes, a couple maternity shirts although not really necessary yet. I am in that awkward stage.

Movement: None yet

Sleep: Great. At least one bathroom trip a night though.

Symptoms: Nauseous throughout the day and extremely nauseous at night, tired, easily lightheaded.

Food Aversions/Cravings: Cheesy things, milk, smoothies, pickles.

Best Moment this Week: Seeing Greg's family, hearing the heartbeat - 172!

What I Miss: Feeling good enough to go on walks around the neighborhood.

What I am Looking Forward to: Feeling good again!

Random Updates

Here are a few random things lately:

1) First, a few Cambry pics. She loves sitting in her glider like a big girl.

2) This past weekend was my first time to be away from Cambry for more than a few hours. That may seem crazy since she is almost 16 months old, but I nursed her for so long and she wouldn't take bottles so it was never possible until recently. It wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was kind of a nice break away from responsibility. She had a great time with Greg's family. They were sweet to send us pictures and updates the whole time.

When we got back she wasn't immediately excited to see us. She gave us a little attitude to let us know that she was not happy we left her. Then the next day at church she cried so hard when we dropped her off in nursery. Poor thing did not want to be left again.

3) I recently tried these Naked smoothies. They are so good. Definitely a splurge since they are more than $3 a bottle at Kroger, but kind of worth it for this nauseous pregnant mama who needs to get more fruits and veggies in. I am sure somehow they aren't as healthy as eating the actual fruit, but they are all fruit, no added sugars or preservatives so hopefully that means they aren't too bad!

4) I tried this recipe the other night.

I haven't been doing a lot of cooking and when I do I choose easy meals. I pull up a chair next to the stove and try not to throw up while I cook :). This was pretty easy. I modified a little. I used sweet Italian turkey sausage instead of beef. Therefore I used less spices and seasonings than the recipe called for. I left out the bell pepper due to laziness. I thought overall it was too salty so I would not add any extra salt next time. Also didnt think it needed as much cheese as the recipe calls for. I did use whole wheat noodles. Cambry loved it. When I cook we eat the leftovers the following night. I am going to have to start cooking more than 4 servings though to have enough. Cambry's portions no loger round down to nothing. When she likes something she is a little piglet. This came our pretty thick (more so than the picture) so next time I would probably add more tomato sauce and chicken broth to make it more soupy and have more leftovers.

5) Cambry's wake up time is constantly changing. Cannot figure her out.

6) Our little mandarin tree in the backyard has lots of white flowers budding. I am hoping that means we will get some fruit this year.

7) This morning as I was laying on the floor in the playroom (so sleepy) while Cambry was playing, she came over to me a couple times and gave me kisses on the cheek unprompted. She is the sweetest thing ever.